This is the first detailed study and catalogue of a comb type that represents a new technology introduced into Britain towards the end of the 4th century AD and a major signifier of the late fourth- to fifth-century transition.
Double-Sided Antler and Bone Combs in Late Roman Britain offers the first detailed study and catalogue of a comb type that represents a new technology introduced into Britain towards the end of the 4th century AD and a major signifier of the late fourth- to fifth-century transition. Their end-plates were worked into a variety of decorative profiles, some clearly zoomorphic. Over time this decorative styling passed from elaborate to rudimentary, adding to the dating evidence for individual combs. As many combs survive only as small fragments, data collection has not been absolute but has concentrated on combs from burials, or with stylistically relevant end-plates, or those providing good dating or contextual evidence, the main aim of the study being to answer questions of typology, chronology and social distribution. A particularly distinctive feature within the assemblage from funerary contexts is the substantial number of these combs from Winchester, which together make up nearly a quarter of the wider British assemblage. It is proposed that a comb workshop was established in the town, and there is some evidence based on style and distribution that points to other workshops in the north and east, but these were not necessarily large and in some cases they appeared to serve only a local community, while Winchester and its hinterland appear to lie at the heart of the comb data.
Preface and Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introducing the combs The dataset Terminology The combs in a wider context Combs and Winchester: a preliminary note Chapter 2: Their date of arrival in Britain The evidence Anomalies explained Contemporary material and events Chapter 3: Manufacture and marketing Manufacture Marketing Chapter 4: Aspects of the assemblage Late Roman or Anglo-Saxon? Other forms of composite comb used in late Roman Britain An unusual variant Chapter 5: Stylistic groups Customised combs or devolved designs? Horse combs Dolphin and Devolved Dolphin combs Owl combs Straight-centred combs with long connecting-plates: very Devolved Dolphins/Owls Concave-ended combs End-plate groups and connecting-plate design Chapter 6: Distribution and context Distribution and possible production centres Distribution by end-plate group Archaeological contexts: baths, votives and burials Site type Chapter 7: Combs from funerary contexts Gender The importance of age Female status and identity Comb position Body position Ethnicity Chapter 8: Conclusion Concentrations and gaps Burial data and typology Valued objects, further research Catalogue Combs from inhumation burials Other combs from cemeteries (disturbed grave goods?) Combs from non-funerary contexts Sites with double-sided composite combs not in the catalogue but used in Figure 6.1 Appendix 1: Combs by the sex and age of the human remains Appendix 2: Concordance by end-plate group Appendix 3: Concordance by site type Bibliography
Nina Crummy is an independent researcher working mainly on Roman small finds from eastern and southern England. Chiefly known for her work on small finds from Colchester, Winchester and Silchester. her research interests include zoomorphic objects and items made from skeletal materials. Graduating from Keele University in 1971, she has an MA from the University of Wales Trinity St David (2014) and is a Senior Visiting Research Fellow of the University of Reading.
Richard Henry is a Doctoral Research Student at the University of Reading and Curator of Archaeology for Southampton City Council. A find specialist and numismatist, he has a particular interest in late Roman Britain and the 5th century transition. A graduate of the University of Wales, Lampeter, he gained an MSc from Bournemouth University (2016), where he is a Visiting Research Fellow. While the Finds Liaison Officer for Wiltshire, he curated the award-winning exhibition Terry Pratchett: HisWorld.
